Broncos win third straight on late penalty kick

Men’s soccer has won three straight games as they have outscored their opponents 5-3 this past week.

After being tied for the majority of the game, the Broncos’ momentum picked up in the second half to score three goals for the win over Stanislaus State, 4-2.

The Broncos’ men’s soccer team struck first in the 27th minute with a shot from the middle of the field by junior midfielder Jimmie Villalobos, who bended the ball into the upper right corner.

“We were moving the ball side-to-side on the left and it went to the right,” Villalobos said. “We did not get it to the right side so they [Stanislaus State] hit it and then it hit off of a player on their team. It came to the outside of the box, I stopped it and then I looked at the goalie. He was out of his goal so then I curved it and luckily it went in.”

The Broncos are 3-1 in conference play and sit fourth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. (Grace Mikuriya | The Poly Post)

Although the Broncos did dominate the half by outshooting the Warriors 15-3.

Stanislaus was able to make those three shots count.

In the last two minutes of the first half, the Warriors came back to tie the score 1-1 in the 43rd minute by a shot from Sean Bender.

“I think we had a good rhythm from the start,” Head Coach Adam Reeves said. “I thought that we saw frames a number of times in the first half and really could have been up two or three early and we gave them life, but what worked well was our ball movement and speed of play. Our movement off the ball was good and we got players in the right area which we asked them to get to. So, you know, anytime you get 26-27 shots you’re doing something right.”

The second half was more balanced with 11 shots for CPP and 10 for Stanislaus but the Warriors broke the tie first.

Cal Poly fell behind early during the second half 2-1. At the 51st minute, Warriors midfielder Ryan Kane scored off a rebound from an earlier shot to take the lead 2-1.

Nine minutes later, senior midfielder Sergio Martinez buried a shot from the right corner of the box into the upper left corner to get the Broncos back into the game and tied 2-2.

“I got the ball from the right side. The score was 2-1,” Martinez said. “I received it and cut into the right and I looked far post. It might have deflected from the defender a little bit, but it ended up second post into the goal.”

The game stayed tied until the 76th minute when Villalobos crossed from the left side and headed toward the goal from point blank range. Villalobos scored his second goal of the night to give the Broncos the lead 3-2. This was his sixth goal for the season.

“A play from the right side and it went to the left and Ori [CPP midfielder] was on the left side. He hit it one time and the defender blocked it and he got a second rebound. I was still in the box and so he just centered it and luckily I was in the box, I hit it and it was good.”

The Broncos offense continued to add to the score just one minute later.

In the 77th minute, senior midfielder Patricio Yrizar made his first goal of the season to extend their lead over the Warriors, 4-2.

“We started to get a little tired and the other team as well, so we found space,” Yrizar said. “Sergio Martinez stole it in their back and he passed it to me in the left wing. Then I saw an open space, open goal, and I shot it from outside of the box and scored into the fire post. We have been working on it a lot, especially our attitude after we go down. We try to stick together and support each other.”

CPP doubled Stanislaus’ shots with 26 to their 13. Of the 26 shots, only nine were on goal to the Warrior’s six.

“Our attitude has been great the last couple games and I think that is the difference between the first games of the season where the attitude was not there,” Yrizar said. “It is mentality and sticking together when we are going down.”

The Broncos defeated Chico State 1-0 on a penalty kick by junior midfielder Cyro Oliveira on Sunday afternoon.

The Broncos had a total of 10 shots in the game with seven of them on goal.

Oliveira led the team with four shots and three on goal.

The Broncos will be on the road to play Sonoma State on Friday and continue the trip to face Humboldt State on Sunday.